12 

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William Rotch 



OF NANTUCKET 



By 
AUGUSTINE JONES 



PHILADELPHIA: 

THE AMERICAN FRIEND PUB. CO. 

igoi 






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• • • « « 



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■•' "»• •< 




WILLIAM ROTCH. 



From The American Friend of Fifth month 2 and 9, 1901. 



WILLIAM ROTCH. 

EY AUCJUSTIKE JONES. 

The career of a man who was possessed of strong, 
individual character, tempered by sincere and deep 
religions convictions, with tender conscience, who, 
with master-strokes, established and built up great 
industries and influenced from his center the busi- 
ness of the w^orld, ought never to be lost sight of. His 
worthy example is the heritage of mankind, to be 
cherished in the perpetual annals of the race. We 
owe vastly more to the heroes of invention and of 
enterprise, who have clothed and fed the multitude 
and spread before the entire world the light of mod- 
ern civilization than to the whole race of violent men 
who have changed again and again the map of the 
world, whose vain-glorious chronicles are the staple 
of history, far beyond their merit or usefulness. 

William Kotch, a distinguished member of the So- 
ciety of Friends, was born in 1734 in the island of 
Nantucket, Mass. His father, J^d in Eotch ri704-84\. 
his brother Francis, both Friends, were, like himself, 
largely interested in the whale fishery and shipping, 
earlv in Nantucket and later in N^ew Bedford. This 



cW 



family did much to make Nantucket for a time the 
greatest center of this fishery in the world. Sperm 
oil then was the material which produced the most 
perfect known light, in cot or palace, and also re- 
duced friction in machinery. It was then thought 
that nothing could ever take its place; but the world 
has since received more light on that subject. 

The island of Nantucket, during the Revolution- 
ary War, was exposed to destruction from both Eng- 
lish and Americans, and the fact that most of the in- 
habitants were non-combatants and not prepared to 
take arms against the mother country increased their 
peril at home, but saved them in the end. 

William Rotch says: " From the year 1775 to the 
end of the war we were in continual embarrassments. 
Our vessels were captured by the English, and our 
small vessels and boats sent to the continent for pro- 
visions denied and sent back empty under pretense 
that we supplied the British, which was without the 
least foundation. Prohibitory laws were often made 
in consequence of these reports, unfounded as they 
were. By this inhuman conduct we were sometimes 
in danger of being starved." 

He has given to us in his own language an interest- 
ing incident of his experience. . . . He had a lot of 
muskets taken for debt, with bayonets on them. He 
readily sold the muskets to whalers, who used them 
on their voyages to kill wild fowl. But he always 
reserved the bayonets, for their only use was to kill 
men. The bayonets were neglected and forgotten, 

P. 
Auth^of. 

(P«r»of»>. 



until an application was made for them from the con- 
tinent for use in war. 

He says: " The time had now come to support our 
testimony against war or forever abandon it. As this 
very instrument was a severe test, I would not hesi- 
tate, and therefore promptly denied the applicant. 
My reasons for not furnishing the bayonets were de- 
manded, to which I readily answered: ^ As this in- 
strument is purposely made and used for the destruc- 
tion of mankind, and I cannot put into one man's 
hand to destroy another that which I cannot use 
myself in the same way, 1 refuse to comply with thy 
demand.' The person left me, much dissatisfied. 
Others came and received the same denial. It made 
a great noise in the country, and my life was threat- 
ened. I would gladly have beaten them into ' prun- 
ing-hooks.' As it was, 1 took an early opportunity 
of throwing them into the sea." 

The Committee of the General Court soon took 
him to Watertown for investigation. He says: "1 
gave a full account of my proceedings, and closed it 
by saying: ' I sank them in the bottom of the sea. 
I did it from principle. I have ever been glad that 
I had done it. If I have done wrong, I am to be 
pitied.' The chairman of the committee, one Major 
Hawley (a worthy character), then addressed the 
committee and said: ^ I believe Mr. Rotch has given 
us a candid account of the affair, and every man has 
a right to act consistently with his religious princi- 
ples. But I am sorry we cannot have the bayonets. 



6 

for we want them very much.' The Major was de- 
sirous of knowing more of our Friends' principles, on 
which I informed him as far as he inquired. One 
of the committee (Judge Paine), in a pert manner, 
observed, ' Then, your principles are passive obedi- 
ence and non-resistance ? ' I replied, ' No, my friend; 
our principles are active obedience or passive suffer- 
ing.' I passed through no small trial on account of 
my bayonets, and the clamor long continued against 
me." 

His brother Francis owned the ship " Dartmouth," 
from which the tea was thrown into Boston harbor 
Twelfth month 16th, 1773. She was the first vessel 
built in '^e^Y Bedford. Francis was then only 23 
years old, and had his property in her, doubtless, 
from his Quaker father. The citizens of Boston 
would not let him land the tea, and the royal colonial 
Governor Hutchinson would not let him return it to 
England. The citizens on that day w^ere in mass 
meeting in the old South Meeting House, on Wash- 
ington Street, corner of Milk Street, now standing 
in good repair. Young Eotch interceded, now with 
the Governor out at Milton, and now with the peo- 
ple — all in vain. Neither would yield. It was 6 
o'clock p.m. when Rotch reported the last time to 
the meeting that the Governor was obstinate, and he 
could do no more. There were seven thousand peo- 
ple collected. Samuel Adams, the soul of the rebel- 
lion, arose and said: ^^ This meeting can do nothing 
more to save the country." Instantly a shout was 



heard at the porch; the war-whoop resounded, and a 
band of forty or fifty men, disguised as Indians, 
rushed by the door. 

The population of ]^antucket in 1775 was 4,500; 
it was in 1890, 3,268. The people of the earlier date 
Avere mostly Friends, as appears in the court record 
of that period. . . . There were then one hundred 
and fifty vessels from that place employed in the 
whale fishery, which in number then led the world. 

There was a civil embargo in 1777 which pre- 
vented vessels from leaving ^N^antucket, which was 
raised by an order of Council of Massachusetts upon 
petition, and upon condition of " being wholly 
manned by Quakers." He says, in the following 
year, " people not Friends murmured against me. 
They considered me the principal cause that we did 
not join in the war (which I knew was measurably 
the case), when we might have been plentifully sup- 
plied, but now were likely to starve — little consider- 
ing that if we had taken part there was nothing but 
supernatural aid (which we had no reason to expect) 
that could ha^'e prevented our destruction. . . . My 
affliction seemed more than I could bear; but, sus- 
tained by that good FTand wdiich had so often been 
my deliverer, after shedding a flood of tears, my 
mind was more easy and my spirits revived." 

'"' In the year 1779, seven British armed vessels 
and transports, Avith troops from K^ewport, came to 
us. . . . They plundered us of much property — some 
from me.'' Soon after, the town appointed a com- 



8 

mittee, consisting of William Rotch and two others, 
to represent its case to the commander of the army 
and navy. This committee went at once to ^Newport, 
where Captain Dawson commanded the navy and 
General Prescott the army. They succeeded, 
through great peril and extraordinary energy, in 
landing, against the protest of Captain Dawson. Wil- 
liam Rotch says: ^' I got on shore in the afternoon 
and found that I must wait on General Prescott. 
Knowing his brittle temper, and being in the after- 
noon, I almost dreaded to appear in his presence. 
However, let my treatment be what it would, I de- 
sired the meeting over. 

^' 1 was introduced by one of his aids. He received 
me very cordially, gave me his hand and said, ' Mr. 
.Eotch, will you have some dinner? I can give you 
good bread, though the rebels say we have none.' I 
thanked him, saying I had dined. ' Well,' said he, 
' will you have a glass of wine ? ' He did not object to 
the wine — it was then in common use — but objected 
to the ceremonies. He said he meant no disrespect. 
Gen. Prescott answered, ' Oh, no; if a Quaker will be 
a Quaker, it is all I want of him.' After some con- 
versation, I mentioned that I did not wish to intrude 
further on his time, and rose to retire. ' Oh, no,' 
says he, ^ you must take some coffee.' I accepted his 
kindness and s^ladlv retired." 

The committee could effect nothing, however, 
Avithout going to I^ew York, where they were well 
received and accomplished very much. He says: 



9 

" We applied to Sir Henry Clinton, tlirongli one of 
his aids, Major Andre, that fine young man who h:>st 
his life as a spy." 

" T now eanie to the most trying scene in my 
whole experience during the war. I was impeached, 
with four others, for high treason, by Thomas Jen- 
kins, wdien there was no step between being clear and 
death." This arose from his efforts to be let alone 
in IS^antucket by the British and not further mo- 
lested by them. The story of his examination and 
trial -in JBoston is a thrilling one. It finally came 
before the General Court of Massachusetts. The 
House cleared them, the Senate held them, ^' thus 
playing with our lives as with a tennis ball," he says; 
but they were soon released. 

A change of admirals in New York again exposed 
Nantucket to British marauders, and again William 
Rotch and a committee sought peace in a visit to 
New A'^ork, and again succeeded in securing assur- 
ances of safety. His own words respecting this trip 
are interesting: " It was proposed to me to go with 
two others. I had been then confined nearly nine 
months \vhh. rheumatism, had just left my crutches, 
and was hobbling about with a cane; therefore I 
could not think of such an undertaking. But all 
others utterly refused to go unless I would accom- 
pany them. This brought a great strait upon my 
mind. Go, I thought, I could not, and to omit it 
seemed almost inevitable destruction. At last I con- 
sented, under great apprehension that I should not 
live to return." 



10 

He was captured by a British privateer, with two 
women and two men Friends, on his way to Sandwich 
Quarterly Meeting in his own vessel, but he saved 
his vessel and recovered some other property taken 
from them, a few days later. William Rotch and 
a committee proceeded to Congress in Philadelphia 
and secured concessions of great importance to ]^an- 
tucket, but peace soon came between the two coun- 
tries. The United States was severed from Great 
Britain. Willjam Rotch had himself lost $60,000 by 
this war — a great sura at that time — which loss near- 
ly ruined him financially. 

William Botch was a representative to ISTew Eng- 
land Yearly Meeting in 1782, at Newport. He signed 
as clerk, on behalf of a committee of great import- 
ance in the organization and government of the Year- 
ly Meeting in 178o, a report of the dignity almost of 
discipline, indicating his personal weight in the meet- 
ing. 

William Botch was the OAvner of the famous ship 
'' Bedford," of Xantucket, which had the honor of 
first displaying the American flag in British waters. 
There is a certain rich and racy relish to the follow- 
ing narration of an English historian of the period, 
who seemed to chronicle with some disdain: 

'' The shi]) ' Bedford,' Captain Mooers, belonging 
to the Massachusetts, arrived in the Downeson the 3d 
of February, 1783, and was reported at the custom 
house on the 6th instant. She was not allowed regu- 
lar entry until some consultation had taken place be- 



11 

tween the commissioners of the customs and the 
Lords of Council, on account of the many acts of 
Parliament in force against the rebels of America. 
She was loaded with four hundred and eighty-seven 
butts of whale oil, is American-built, manned wholly 
by American seamen and belongs to the island of 
I^antucket, in Massachusetts. This is the first ves- 
sel ^^'hich has displayed the thirteen rebellious stripes 
of Aiuerica in any British port.'' — Barnard's " His- 
tory of England," '' Cvclopoedia of United States 
History," Vol. 1., p. 498. 

No doubt the trouble at the custom house arose 
from the fact that the deiinitive treaty of peace be- 
tween the tAVO countries was not signed at Paris until 
^inth month 3d, 1783, seven months after this 
event, but provisional articles of peace were signed 
at Paris Eleventh month 30th, 1782, so that the en- 
ergetic merchant had reasonable ground for his ad- 
venture. It is a notable fact that the '' Dartmouth," 
which lost the tea, was owned by Erancis, and that 
the '*^ Bedford " was owned by his brother. 

He was prominent in 1784 in ^ew England 
Yearly Meeting, being on the Executive Committee 
which directed its business, and also on the commit- 
tee to consider the state of the Society and devise 
measures for improvement. This was the first year 
of the Providence Eriends School, which began at 
Portsmouth, R. I. He was a strong patron of it. 

Great Britain was in 1785 " the only market of 
any consequence for sperm oil." . . . The heavy 



12 

" alien duties " against American oil mined the 
business in America. It noAV sold at £17 to the ton, 
Avhicli had previously been sold at £30. It cost £25 
to produce it. Nothing remained to a prac- 
tical, thrifty man but to follow the market into Eng- 
land, and that he tried to do. He therefore, with his 
son Benjamin, who was destined to remain abroad 
permanently, sailed from i^antucket Seventh month 
4th, ITS 5, in his own ship, ^' Maria,'' William 
Mooers, master, who, I suppose, commanded the 
'^ Bedford " two years before. 

They had a ^ne passage of twenty-three days. He 
first visited the coast from Southampton to Falmouth 
for ports suitable to his purpose, and decided on Fal- 
mouth. He visited the grave of his brother at Bris- 
tol, who had died there eighteen years before. 

He says: '' My next object was to know what en- 
couragement we could obtain from the British Gov- 
ernment. My friend Bobert Barclay [the great-grand- 
son probably of the apologist], perceiving what my 
business was, spoke to Harry Beaufoy, a member of 
Parliament, who introduced me to the Chancellor of 
the Exchequer, the great AVilliam Pitt, then about 
27 years of age. He received me politely and heard 
me patiently. I laid before him our ruinous situa- 
tion, saying, ' When the war commenced we declared 
against taking part in it and strenuously adhered to 
this determination, thus placing ourselves as a neutral 
island. Nevertheless, you have taken from us about 
two hundred sail of vessels, valued at £200,000 ster- 



ling, unjustly and illegally. Had the war been 
fonnded on a general declaration against America, 
we shoidd have" been included; but it was predicated 
on a rebellion; consequently, none could have been 
included in it but such as were in arms, or those that 
were aiding such. We have done neither. As a 
proof of our being without the reach of your declara- 
tion, you sent conunissioners to restore peace to 
America, in which any province, county or town that 
should make submission and receive pardon should 
be reinstated in its former situation. As we had not 
offended, we had no submission to make or pardon 
to ask; and certainly it is very hard if we do not 
stand on better ground than those who have of- 
fended; consequently, we remained a part of your 
dominions until separated by the peace.' This last 
sentence 1 pressed very closely whenever I, with pro- 
priety, could introduce it, knowing it was a material 
point. After I had done, he paused some time and 
then answered: 'Undoubtedly you are right, sir. 
Now, wdiat can we do for you? ' I told him that, in 
the present situation of things, the principal part of 
our inhabitants must leave the island. Some would 
go into the country. A part wish to continue the 
whale fishery wherever it can be pursued to advan- 
tage: therefore, my chief business is to lay our dis- 
tressed situation before this nation, and to ascertain 
if the fishery is an object worth giving such encour- 
agement for removal to England as the subject de- 
serves. Thus our conversation ended." He waited 



14 

four months for an answer. They then appointed 
Lord Hawkesbury to confer with him — a great en- 
emy to America. They would not permit the intro- 
duction into England of American-built ships. 

He then went to Dunkirk, in France, a most ex- 
cellent port, and received from the French Govern- 
ment twice as much, most graciously granted by it, as 
he had asked of the English. When it was too 
late he received the following through a secretary: 
" You are at liberty to agree with us, and I am au- 
thorized by Mr. Pitt to tell you that you may make 
your own terms." He was already settled at Dun- 
kirk with two ships, which were soon increased to 
fifty. He formed a partnership at Dunkirk, consist- 
ing of himself, his son Benjamin and son-in-law^, Sam- 
uel Rodman. 

He now returned to his home in America, after an 
absence of eighteen months, arriving First month 1st, 
1Y87. He remained in America four years and re- 
turned then to Dunkirk to visit his sons and attend 
to the business. 

There were several civil and religious questions, 
important both to the Friends at Dunkirk and to 
those at Congenies, in the south of France, and else- 
where, which seemed seriously to require the decision 
of the National Assembly. They related to religious 
liberty, military service, oaths and registration of 
births, deaths and marriages. The Friends, north 
and south, united in a petition, presented on the 10th 
dav of Second month, 1791, to the Assemblv. Sir 




MIRABEAU. 



17 

Edward Fry declares this event to have been ^' sl 
cnrions episode in Qnaker history." It seems to ns 
more than cnrions. There was an awfnl sublimity in 
the announcement of such great truths in this peti- 
tion as with the voice of God, to that Assembly, at 
that moment on the brink of the most terrible catas- 
trophe in history. The answer of Mirabeau, the 
President, contains enough of the petition to make it 
understood. Mirabeau only lived one month and 
twenty-two days after the following speech, dying at 
42 years of age. The one man who, if anybody, could 
have saved his country was able to do it standing 
wdth the monarchy in one hand and the turbulent 
democracy in the other; with the confidence of both, 
he, more than any other man, was then the hope of 
France. There was another eminent man aiding the 
Friends that dav — Jean Pierre Brissot (de Warville) 
("^'orth American Pteview," VoL 38, p. 177). 
He was the master spirit of the Girondists, who were 
the flower of the revolution, a martyr, who strove to 
stay the hand of violence. 

THE ANSWER OF MIRABEAU."^ 

" Quakers, who have fled from persecutors and ty- 
rants, cannot but address with confidence those legis- 



* The portrait of Mirabeau, which appears in this number is 
a copy of a noted painting in the collection at Bowdoin Col- 
lege, Me. James Bowdoin, of Boston, Mass., son of Governor 
Bowdoin, for whom the college was named, was from 1806 to 



18 

lators who have, for the first time in France, made 
the rights of mankind the basis of the laws. And 
France, now reformed — France, in the bosom of 
peace (which she will always consider herself bonnd 
to revere, and which she wishes to all other nations), 
may become another happy Pennsylvania. 

^^ As a system of philanthropy we admire yonr 
principles. They remind us that the origin of every 
society was a family united by its manners, its af- 
fections and its wants; and, doubtless, those would 
certainly be the most sublime institutions which 
would renew the human race and bring them back 
to this primitive and virtuous original. 

^^ The examination of your principles, as a matter 
of opinion, no longer concerns us; we have decided 

1808 a United States Commissioner to treat with Spain, during 
Jefferson's administration, residing at the time in Paris. He 
made a very valuable collection of paintings, having rare facili- 
ties for securing choice works of art, and at his decease, in 
1811, these treasures were all left to the college. 

The painter of this picture is unknown, but the perfect like- 
ness determines at once that Mirabeau was the subject de- 
picted. An able critic has said of it, that the painter " was a 
man of unusual power, having many characteristics of Rem- 
brandt and the masters of later schools. The painting is al- 
most startling in its realism, broad in handling, fresh and 
vigorous in technique." 

It exalts our interest in this work of art and its associa- 
tions, when we remember that the students of this institution 
since 1811 have always cherished this picture as one of the 
richest gems worn modestly, but proudly, on the radiant form 
of their nurse of happiest years. 



ly 



on that point. There is a kind of property which no 
man would put into the common stock — the motions 
of his soul, the freedom of his thought. In this sa- 
cred domain man is placed in a hierarchy far above 
the social state. As citizen, he must adopt a form of 
government; but as a thinking being, he has no coun- 
try but the universe. 

'^' As principles of religion, your doctrines will not 
be the subject of our deliberation. The relation of 
every man to the Supreme Being is independent of 
all political institutions. Between God and the heart 
of man what government would dare to interpose ? 

'' As civil maxims, your claims must be submitted 
to the discussion of the legislative body.^ We will 
examine whether the forms you observe in order to 
certify births and marriages he sufficient to authenti- 
cate those descents which the division of property 
renders necessary, independently of good morals.^ 

" We will consider whether a declaration, subject 
to the penalties against false witnesses and perjurv. 
be not in fact an oath. 

^' Worthv citizens, you have already taken that 
civic oath which every man deserving of freedom re- 
gards as a privilege rather than a duty. You have 
not taken God to witness, but you have appealed to 
your consciences. And is not a pure conscience a 
heaven without a cloud ? Is not that part of man a 
rav of the divinity ? 

''' You also sav that one of your religious tenets 
forbids you to take up arms or to kill on any pretence 



20 

Avliatsoever. It is certainly a noble pliilosophical 
principle, which thus does a kind of homage to hu- 
manity. Bnt consider well, whether the defense of 
yourselves and your equals be not also a religious 
duty. Would you, then, have remained subject to 
tyrants? Since we have procured liberty for you, 
and for ourselves, why should you refuse to preserve 
it? 

'^ Had your brethren in Pennsylvania been less re- 
mote from the savages Avould they have suifered 
their wives, their children, their parents, to be mas- 
sacred rather than resist? And are not stupid 
tyrants and ferocious conquerors also savages ? 

^' The Assembly will, in its wisdom, consider all 
your requests. But whenever I meet a Quaker, I 
shall say: 

^^ ^ My brother, if thou hast a right to be free, 
thou hast a right to prevent any one from making 
thee a slave. As thou lovest thy fellow-creature, suf- 
fer not a tyrant to destroy him; it would be killing 
him thyself. Thou desirest peace, but consider — 
weakness invites war. General resistance would 
prove a universal peace.' 

" The Assembly invites you to stay its sitting." 

It is not to be expected that Mirabeau would hold 
the views of a convinced Iriend on war and oaths, 
but his candor and his lofty ideals of soul liberty are 
attractive and inspiring. 

'^ The respectful petition of the Christian So- 
ciety of Friends called Quakers,'' which the 



21 



President of the Assembly answered m the fore- 
goini>- ^voi-ds, was prepared mostly by John Mar- 
sillac in the French language, and read by ami 
to the Assembly. He was a convinced iriencl 
of Congenies, or that neis?hborhood, of exalted sta- 
tion in life and ample means. He had been sent as 
a his-hlv-accredited Friend from the Friends m Con- 
cenies to the Friends in London in 1785, bearing an 
excellent epistle, signed by forty brethren ( Lon- 
don Friend," Vol. 3, p. 78.) He wrote m 1 < 03 a let- 
ter full of true light and life to Robert (^rubb and 
others. (See the same volume of London Friend, 
nao-e 253.) He was the author of a life of William 
Penn, in French, published in Paris in two volunies 
in 1791 We believe that the following graphic de- 
scription of these matters from the pen of William 
Rotch himself will furnish the richest and most sal- 
utarv finish to the narration: 

He savs- " Earlv in 1791 [Second month lOtliJ 1 
was called upon, with my son, to attend the National 
Assemblv at Paris. We were ]omed by John Mar- 
sillac in presenting the petition to that body for some 
privileges and exemptions connected with oiir relig- 
ious principles. The petition was drawn up by John 
ilarsillac before we reached Paris, and notice given 
that it must be presented next day. On perusing 
it we found some material alterations necessary, and, 
in some instances, it was difiicult to express in 
French the alterations we had made m English with- 
out losing their force. My not understanding the 



22 

French language, it was impossible to have snch ex- 
pressions as I thought necessary inserted; and the 
time was so short that we were obliged to let it pass 
with much fewer amendments than I wished. 

'' The hour was come for presenting it, and the 
previous notice given of the ' Quaker petition/ I sup- 
pose, drew every member in town to his seat. The 
galleries for spectators were filled, and many could 
not be accommodated; nor did we wonder at the 
curiosity, considering the novelty of the subject. 

^^ We had been with Brissot de Warville, Clavier 
and some others, looking over the petition until 
the latest moment, and must now proceed to the As- 
sembly. They, with several others, had come to ac- 
company us, and just as we were moving some one 
observed, ^ You have no cockades; you must put 
them on.' We told them we could not. Tt was a dis- 
tinguishing badge we could not make use of. ^ But,' 
said they, ^ it is required by law to prevent distinc- 
tions, that people may not be abused, for their lives 
are in danger mthout them.' There w^as always a 
large body of the lower classes about the Assembly 
that we had to pass through. We replied that we 
could not do it, whatever might be the consequences; 
that we were willing to go as far as we could, and if 
stopped we must submit to it. We saw that our 
friends were full of fear for our safety. We set out 
with no small apprehension, but w^e trusted in that 
Power which can turn the hearts of men as a water- 
course is turned. We passed through the great con- 



23 

course without interruption, and readied the wait- 
ing: room of the Assembly. A messen2:er informed 
the President of our arrival, and we were immediate- 
ly called to the bar. 

^^ John Marsillac read the petition, with Brissot 
at his elbow to correct him in his emphasis, which 
he frequently did, unperceived, I believe, by all ex- 
cept ourselves. At the close of every subject there 
w^as a general clapping of hands, and the officers en- 
deavoring to hush them. The hushing I thought was 
hissing, from my ignorance of the language, and 7 
apprehended all was going wrong, until better in- 
formed. After the reading w^as concluded, the Presi- 
dent Mirabeau read his answer. The clapping was 
repeated at the end of every subject. At the close 
the President said: ^ The Assembly invites you to 
stay its sitting.' As we were passing to the seats as- 
signed to us, a person touched Benjamin and said, ' I 
am rejoiced to see something of your principles 
brought before the Assembly.' He did not know 
who he was. After we were seated, several mem- 
bers came to us for conversation on our principles. 
AVe remained till the Assembly rose." 

They had personal visits Avith Talleyrand and oth- 
ers of note. He says, further: " The object of our 
petition was of little consequence to me, compared 
to the opportunity we now had of somewhat spread- 
ing a knowledge of our principles — above all, that of 
the inward light or Spirit of God in every man, as a 
primary rule of faith and practice." He had large 



24 

meetings at his hotel for instructing an excellent 
class of people in his views. He says, further: ^' It 
was a turbulent time in Paris, and much more so 
afterwards. Several of these valuable persons fell 
in the reign of terror, and others are beyond my 
knowledge, but the remembrance of those evenings 
and the feeling of Divine influence that attended 
them will, I believe, never pass away." 

The little colony of Friends at Dunkirk were con- 
stantly exposed to peril, suffering and abuse as the 
storm of revolution in France hourly became more 
furious, culminating, in 1703, in the hideous Reign 
of Terror. War with England seemed to be the in- 
evitable destiny of France early in 1793, and Wil- 
liam Rotch and his associates in part made their es- 
cape to England. He left France First month 19th, 
and Louis XVI., the first sovereign in the world to 
acknowledge the independence of the United States, 
Avas guillotined two days afterwards. AVilliam 
Rotch sojourned in London until Seventh month, 
1794; then he returned to his home in Xantucket, 
where he remained until 1795, and then removed to 
Xew Bedford, where he resided ever after. 

His son Benjamin next established the whale fish- 
ery at Milford Haven, in the southwestern extremity 
of Wales, " considered by Lord i^elson to be the fin- 
est, most safe and extensive harbor in the world." 
The hero of the ~Ni[e found the domain here of Sir 
William Hamilton verv attractive. This also is the 
" Blessed ]\Iilford " of Lnogen (" Cymbeline," III. , 




WILLIAM EOTCH, JE. 



27 

2), ^' who is the angel of light, whose lovely pres- 
ence pervades and animates the w^hole " (^^ Kecollec- 
tions of SeA^entv Years/' by Mrs. John Farrar, pp. 
1-60). Benjamin could not, however, escape from 
France until the fall of Robespierre, in the Seventh 
month, 1704. It may have been that the anxiety of 
William Ttotch for his son held him back from leav- 
ing for America until assurance of his safety was 
made doubly sure. 

Another son of William Rotch, William Rotch, 
Jr. (1759-1850), vdll always be a character of great 
interest to I^ew England Friends. He was the clerk 
of the yearly meeting most of the time from 1788 to 
1818, followed in that office by Abraham Sherman, 
Jr., until 1846, and he in turn by Samuel Boyd 
Tobey until 1867, the three clerks covering about 
eighty years. William Rotch, Jr., was also, with 
Moses Brown and others, an original trustee of the 
Friends School estate at Providence. William Rotch, 
Sr., and AVilliam Rotch, Jr., were both liberal contri- 
butors to and founders of that institution. Every 
one of these men refused to have their pictures paint- 
ed, and concealed all they could their donations, like 
so many worthy founders of Harvard University, 
who did it not to be seen of men. William Rotch, 
Jr., for almost a half century, was very conspicuous 
in the affairs of the yearly meeting. He was a very 
earnest anti-slavery man, and so was his father. 

He subscribed nearly one-half of the money raised 
in ^ew Bedford for Friends' Academy, which was 



28 

built in ]S11 upon land donated by his father. His 
father was the lirst president of the trustees, and he 
was himself the first treasurer of the institution. 

Hero w^orship would have been very distasteful to 
that group of noble men, which included the Haz- 
ards, the Browns, the Kotches and many others; but 
we cannot forget the worth lost in them; w^e may 
well seek with all our hearts to emulate their careers 
in folloAving the J^ord Jesus Christ in the obedience 
of faith. The last appearance of William Rotch, Sr., 
on Yearly Meeting records was on a committee to set 
off Yassalboro Quarterly Meeting, Me., in 1813. 

The whale fishery in JSTew Bedford Avas greatly ex- 
tended, and from ISlcS became very flourishing. Wil- 
liam Rotch and his family were prominent in this 
advancement. 

The most effective way to portray the character 
of a man is by presenting him in action when he 
himseK is unaware and unsuspecting. The exalted 
manhood and true grandeur of soul of William 
Botch, full of the tender compassion of our divine 
Master, " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of 
the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto 
me," will appear in the following narration: 

Captain Paul Cuffee, born near ^ew Bedford, in 
1759, whose father was a slave born in Africa, and 
his mother an Indian, became by his own energy the 
owner of vessels. He was an influential member of 
the Society of Friends, and one of its ministers. He 
was a philanthropist, deeply interested in the colon- 



29 

ization of American freedmen on the west coast of 
Africa. He acquired quite a fortune. He lived and 
died at V/estport, Mass. 

New Bedford made an enviable record in the anti- 
slavery struggle. She first offered to Frederick 
Douglass a sympathetic, helping hand into place and 
power. 

Paul Cuffee was at a public house in 'New Bedford 
warming himself by the fire in the travelers' room, 
when the landlady came to him and told him that 
she had prepared a separate table for him. He po- 
litely thanked her for the attention, but informed 
her that he had previously accepted an invitation to 
dine with William Rotch. 

William Rotch, with some English Friends, visited 
Westport Meeting and accepted an invitation, ex- 
tended to them all, to dine at Paul Cuffee's. They 
soon discovered that their host and hostess, overawed 
by the dignity from abroad and at home, had placed 
no chairs for themselves at the table. 

William Rotch said that he '' would not take his 
seat at the table unless Paul and his wife presided." 
He had his own gentle but unflinching way. '' The 
company was soon seated, and an agreeable as well 
as bountiful dinner partaken of." (^' History of New 
Bedford," by Daniel Ricketson, p. 255). 

William Rotch was for many years one of the most 
venerable and conspicuous citizens of the town which 
he had contributed largely to create. He lived to 
the great age of 9-1, loved and respected far and 



30 

wide, and died in 1828. He said himself, in 1814, 
" When I take a retrospect view of this portion of 
my b'fe, of the dangers to which I have been exposed 
and the numerous privations 1 have witnessed to be 
attributed to nothing but that superintending Power, 
who is ever ready to succor the workmanship of His 
holy hand, it fills me with astonishment and admira- 
tion, and, seeing my own worthlessness, I may ex- 
claim, with the Psalmist, " What is man that thou 
art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou vis- 
itest him ! " ('^ The N. E. Hist. Genealogical Reg 
Vol. 32, p. 394.) 



y 



^ Note. — Boston, Salem and Nantucket were at one time the 
three greatest commercial towns in Massachusetts. The first light- 
house in the United States was located at Brant Point, Nantucket, 
in 1746. (Bay State Monthly, Vol. iii, pp. 193, 198.) 



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